Irreplaceability of Human Beings in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Empathy and Embodied Aesthetics in Musical Performance

Abstract

The rapid development of artificial intelligence has reshaped the boundaries of artistic creation. As AI algorithms increasingly demonstrate the capacity to simulate composition, painting, and even literary creativity, the “irreplaceability of human beings” in artistic practices has emerged as a central issue in contemporary aesthetics and the philosophy of technology. Focusing on musical performance as a core case study, this article investigates the unique value that performing arts continue to hold in the age of AI. It argues that the aesthetic significance of musical performance lies not in the produced artistic outcome but in the embodied, situational, and relational processes through which performers and audiences co-create affective resonance and social connectedness. By examining the semiotic mechanisms of AI-generated art, theories of autopoiesis, and the dynamics of human emotional intimacy, the study demonstrates that although AI can reproduce artistic forms, it cannot generate the life-oriented intentionality or empathic structures inherent in human expression. Drawing on findings from cognitive neuroscience—particularly mirror-neuron systems and emotional empathy mechanisms—the article further analyzes the psychological differences in audience perception when encountering artificial versus human performance. Consequently, it contends that the relationship between AI and performing arts should not be framed in terms of substitution or conflict but rather as a dynamic force driving the self-renewal of the artistic system. The delineation of this boundary constitutes not only a technological issue but also an aesthetic and ethical one.